Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Let's Try this again: January 5

SO blogging while I was in Burkina didn't work out very well because by the time I was ready to wind down for the night I had to upload pictures to facebook (because I was paranoid about loosing them) and write in my journal (because I wanted to write every single detail down) and that whole process took close to two hours each night. Also the internet was slow. So I'll write posts for each day and you can read them now! All of this is taken from my travel journal, things I changed are in brackets.

January 5:

I woke up to chickens and music this morning. I slept pretty well except my pillow was a bit hard. One of my journaling issues is that I want to capture every moment on paper but it's simply not possible, especially with the long conversations I've been having. I'll do my best but remember the experience is more important than recording. It's so cool to be sitting in my room hearing all of the kids playing, getting ready outside. Just something from yesterday- the [younger] kids have a habit of "ruining" things - bike pumps, cell phones, chairs, etc by picking at them and such. Coral think's it's an institutionalized thing as she has seen it in other places where she has done mission work.

Also when I first got here I was a little [surprised] by the religious nature [of the organization] [I wasn't thinking about it as I was freaking out about other things leading up to the trip], after being here though, I think it's a good think and I'm glad it's not just an NGO. There is amazing work being done here both for the kids and the community-kids from the community come and hang out here and the school in town is sponsored by Sheltering Wings and many of the kids have been brought up Christian anyways. Also, Coral is amazed how long it has been "on my heart" to come here. She's so sweet!

I think my biggest struggle has been and will be figuring out how to make the most of my time here. I find myself intimidated by both the local people and the older kids, especially the [ones] around my age. I know they are nice but there is still something intimidating. I regret not having more French, I feel uncomfortable with interactions because I can't speak their language. I also hate that the kids in the village yell "Nasara Boom-Boom!" Which means "White Person Candy!".
[I found this about the origin of Nasara on the blog of someone I met:

Village Kids

They always yell “Nasara!” which is the word for foreigner. As the first foreigners to visit this country, Christian missionaries came from Nazareth to spread their gospel. Henceforth, in the eyes of Burkinabe, all foreigners are referred to as a Nasara. Strangely enough, when I visited Nazareth I didn’t see anyone else who looked anything like me…]
[I talked a lot about my project but you can read about that when I finish it]
I also just wanted to say that I really am astonished by how this program is run, the needs and the abilities of the children are well understood and some things are understandable - like still having outhouses while we have running water - are understandable. This is the fact of life for these kids and we are giving them the care and resources they need to thrive. I'm also realizing just how little we need to get by and be happy. Also on education the main issue I see is memorizing and lack of critical thinking - it's so frustrating! It will also be interesting to see what goals the school age kids have for themselves after school is over for them [one of the questions I planned to ask when I went into the schools]. It really just changes the way you think, being here, what do these kids really want out of life and how it is different/the same as me.

Ok so this morning I was really struggling with what to do and being intimidated and stuff but everything is working out very nicely. I set up two days to go and talk to the kids at the school (and get written answers) and I'm also going to try to talk to some of the kids here tomorrow night. The school system is so frustrating because it's not fostering creativity or critical thinking because most of the kids are just going to end up selling things or working in a job where there is no room for growth - so why does school even matter? Also, why are they learning German?

Also, I love all of the songs the tantes [care givers] sing and the handshake [that is popular here, with the shaking hands and snapping the other person's finger]. I also met Daniel the tutor, he will be good to talk to about education. Also, the kids study three hours a night, how are they all failing! One of my struggles is language - I know greetings in French and "joli" and basic numbers and "semaine" and a few other things, and Barto taught us "Ah-bil-ee-fou" is More for "see you soon. When I come back, before grad school (?), I will be better at French.
I think today really gave me a chance to think about why I am here and what I want to do while I'm here. By focusing on education, I can direct my energy to that and understand the system and see if I can find anyway to help. Also, I love the women's program ladies - they are hilarious et tres joli!
Bon Nuit!
HER